Tile-fastener.



H. L. TILE APPLICATION PATENTED JAN. 14. 1908.

Ro PAS` HENRY L. ROBINSON, OF LAKE CHARLES, LOUISIANA.

TILE-FASTENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 190s.

Application filed May 9. 1907. Serial No. 372.730.

Y To all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY L. ROBINSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lake Charles, in the parish of Calcasieu and Stateof lluisianafhave.invented a new and useful Tile-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.'

This invention relates to devices of that class for holding tiles, building blocks, or the i0 like in place,.and has for its principal object to provide a fastener which may be secured Jin position on the wall or other supporting structure in advance of the application of the `tile thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a tile fastener of simple construction which may be readily fastened to the wall or other support and which is provided with laterally extended ears or ianges arranged to enter grooves or recesses formed in the ends of the tiles.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fastener that may be formed of a single strip of die formed metal having at one ed e a securing fiange to be attached to the wa l, and the opposite edge being also flanged and split so asto form ears that project in opposite directions for engagement with the ends of* adjacent tiles. f l

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of arts, hereinafter vfully described,'gillustrated in the I. accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in' the appended claims, it being understood that various changes inthe form,

proportions, size and minor details of the structure ma be made without departing 40 `from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. A Inf the accom anying drawin sz-#Figure lis a face view o a portion of a ti e structure provided with afastener constructed in aceordance detail sectional view showing the Jfastener l and a tile. .Fig.` 3 is a detail perspective yiew of one of thpe tile securing strips detached.' Fig.4 is a detail perspective view of 550 a portion of `the, tile showing separate tile l fastepings of'the's'ame length as the width of the tile. a

7th the invention. A Fig. 2 is ay Similar numerals of reference are employed preferably formed of sheet metal, is bent at one edge to form a flange L1, and at the opp posite edge is slit, and sol bont as toform sets of laterally projecting ears 15 and 16, that extend outward inopposite directions, these ears being `arranee'dto enter recesses or grooves 17 formed in the ends of the tiles, and the grooves preferably extend the full width ofthe tile. 5 N

In nearly all tile structures the tiles of superposod courses are staggered in order to break joint, and to accommodate this the.-

sets of ears are spaced, so that adjacent sets of ears will engage with the tiles of alternate courses, while between' these setsof-ears a portion of the web of the securing strip is cut away, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3, so as not to interfere with the placing of the tiles of the intermediate courses, while the small s ectionofwebs left will stiffen and strengthen the 'structuref The strips may first be secured in position by nails or other fastenings driven through the lower or inner anges 1l, care being taken to properly s ace the strips in accordance with the lengt of the tiles, and as the strips of felt or simillar material are usually introduced at the back of the tiles, the fianges and the heads of the nails will become partly embedded in this yieldable material andwill not project, and thus interfere with the setting ofthe tiles, so thata perfectly smooth levelV surface will be formed.

It will be noted that the exposed face of the tile is longer than the rear surface, so that a shoulder 20 is formed, thi`s"shoulder forming the outer wall of the groove or re shoulder is suflicient to accommodate the fastenin strip, so that the edges of; the tiles will' be brought closely together at the eX- posed surface, and no cement or filling material will be rendered necessary. The construction of the tiles in thisrnanner iSvhighly ladvanta eous in'securing the tiles in place in that t e strips ,maybe formed of comparatively light 'metaland that portion of the cess 17, and the space aorded below-the' web carryingthe ears 15- 16 may be sprung i `sidewise by a pair .of pliers or similar tool to `permit the proper placing ofthe tile, theweb and ears moving back when released, so that the ears enter the tile recesses.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a slight modification of the invention. In this case the tile fastening strips are of the same length as the width of the t1les and are not formed in continuous A stri s as shown in Fig. 3.

Til

e end grooves or recesses in the tiles are of such area as to permit close fitting of thev ears or lugs15, 16, so that it will not be necessary to employ cement to lhold the same in (place, and the spacesformed between the en s of the tiles atl the rear surfaces thereof are approximately" equal in widthto the thickness `vor the web of the fastenin device,

,the object being t secure as close litting' as possible, 'and thus'secure proper position of the tiles without resorting toscernent' or analogous substances, although the spaceto the rear of the tiles may bevilleld in with cement or other plastic.'

It will'be noted that the central portion of the tile isb'acked by the reduced portion of the web as illustrated,"for instance, in Fig. 2,

and this materially assists in properly placingv the tiles in (position.

The ears Jfurthermore being space may, be readily 'sprung outward when placing the tiles in position, it being necessary only to bend that 'ortion lofthe e at the` time web which carries the ears to introduced into the tile reoessesl I clai1n2 1. A tile fastener comprising an elongated metallic strip having a web and a continuous base flange at one edge thereof, the web ofthe fastener bein cut `away at intervals to pass Vto the reark o *alternate courses of tiles, the' edges of the higher portions of the web being web being slit and bent to form earsthat exl tend alternately in opposite directions.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of'two witnesses.

I'IEI\TR Yv L. ROBINSON.

Witnesses: l i

E. HUME` TALBERT, M. J. WARRINE'R. 

